1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a method for simultaneously shaping and positioning adjacent portions of two matrix bands surrounding adjacent teeth, and dental instrument especially suited for use in carrying out the method. The method and tool facilitate preparation for the concurrent placement of filling material in the bands to restore both teeth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Matrix bands are made of malleable material such as metal and they are positioned around teeth after the teeth have been excavated to remove decayed material, to provide a solid foundation for filling material. Matrix bands contain filling material, such as resin filling material, and form it to and maintain it in a desired shape while it hardens or is hardened or cured.
The prior art discloses myriad dental instruments specifically designed to shape one or two portions of a single matrix band positioned around a single tooth. Examples are described and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,345,983 and 6,652,277. The instruments disclosed in these patents comprise tines supported at the end of two handle arms pivotally connected to each other so the tines spread apart as the handles are squeezed. The tines are manipulated so that outwardly facing shaping surfaces on each tine engage and shape portions of the matrix band and, specifically, the portions where the matrix banded tooth will contact adjacent teeth.
When decay strikes two adjacent teeth, as often happens, the prior art dental instruments described above virtually dictate that a dentist will have to repair those teeth one at a time. Due to the number of steps involved in filling a cavity, especially the curing or hardening of the filling material, this is not an efficient approach to repairing and filling two adjacent teeth. If both of the two adjacent affected teeth could be banded and the teeth filled with filling material, then the filling material in two teeth could be cured or hardened in a single step rather than in two separate steps. This would save considerable time, but the prior art dental instruments are wholly unsuited to shaping and positioning the matrix bands surrounding two adjacent teeth.